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(No Model.)

W. G. BROWNE 85 J. L. BENTON. CAN OPENER.

No. 475,222. Patented May 17,1892.

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I \VILLIAllI G. BROWNE AND JOHN L. BENTON, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

CAN-OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 475,222, dated May 17,1892.

Application filed January 11, 1892. Serial No. 417,762. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that we, WILLIAM G. BROWNE and JOHN L. BENTON, citizens of the United States, residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Can-Openers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention has for its object to produce a can-opener adapted to be made from sheet metal and with but slight waste of material in blanking out, the size of the blank being reduced to the minimum, which will cut out the top of a can without running toward the center and will cut oif the top below the edge without running down the side of the can, the essential feature being that the implement is provided with a fulcrum adapted to bear on the can on both sides of the line of the cut, the plane of the fulcrum being preferably vertical, or nearly so, tothe surface upon which the blade is acting.

With these ends in view we have devised the simple and novel can-opener, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isaspecification, numbers being used to designate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the implement; Fig. 2, a plan View; Fig. 3, an elevation of the blank before it is formed to shape; Fig. 4, an end view of the blank after it is formed to shape, and Fig. 5 is a perspective illustrating a form embodying certain changes in the details of construction.

1 denotesthe cuttingedge; 2, the fulcrum, which is ordinarily provided with a notch 3; 4, the shank, and 5 the handle. The handle may of course be of any ordinary or preferred construction, or may, if preferred, be made integral with the other parts of the implement. The cutting-edge, fulcrum, and shank are under all circumstances preferably made in a single piece. It will be seen that the shape of the parts is such that they may be blanked out with but very little waste of metal.

6 denotes a slot between the cutting-edge and the fulcrum. The fulcrum is formed by curving the strip of metal, which is separated .side and cut around toward the left.

recurving it inward again across the face of the blade, the curvature being ordinarily toward the left, as seen in plan, and then inward across the face of the blade, as clearly shown in the several figures of the drawings, the center of the notch when used being in line with the cutting-edge. The edge of the fulcrum toward the cutting-edge is beveled or sharpened on both sides of the cutting-edge, as at 7, for the purpose of taking hold of the metal of the can and preventing slipping in use.

In Figs. 1 and 2 we have shown the shank and parts made integral therewith as attached to a cast-metal handle, which is provided with a from the cutting-edgeby slot 6 laterally, then boss 8, adapted to engage a oorrespondinglyshaped openingformed in the shank,theshank and parts made integral therewith being rigidly secured to the handle by a screw 9, passing through a hole in the shank.

In Fig. 5 we have shown a form in which an ordinary flat shank is driven into a wood handle provided with a ferrule. In this form the notch 3 in the fulcrum, which in use engages the edge of the can and prevents the blade from running toward thecenter or down the side of the can, as may be, is dispensed with, and a guard 10 is formed at the end of the strip of metal forming the fulcrum. This guard engages the outer edge of the can when cutting out the top and engages the top of the can when cutting off the top.

In use, when cutting out the top, the operator forces the end of the blade through the metal of the can and then tilts the blade upward and moves it forward under the top. The operator then raises the handle, which presses the fulcrum down upon the top of the can and cuts the metal up to the fulcrum, the out being made by the upward movement of the handle and behind the fulcrum, the beveled edge of the fulcrum causing it to take firm hold of the can, so that the cut is made in solid metal. In cutting out the top of a can the operator will ordinarily start at the right In cutting off the top it is quite as convenient to start at the front and cut around toward the left. In use, both when cutting out and when cutting off the top of a can the edge of the can lies in the notch, so that the cutting-edge can neither work toward the center when cutting out the top nor down the side of the can when cutting off the top. By making the plane of the fulcrum vertical to the surface that is being acted upon We get the greatest possible strength and use the least metal, the saving of metal being a not unimportant object in manufacturing large quantities. By the special manner of constructing the fulcrum a rigid bearing is obtained on both sides of the cutting-edge and all danger of the implement running off the can is avoided and by beveling the fulcrum all danger of slipping is avoided.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 7 1. A can-opener consisting of a cutting-edge and a fulcrum formed by curving a strip of metal laterally in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the blade and then inward across the face of the blade, substantially as described.

2. A can-opener consisting of a cutting-edge and a fulcrum formed by curving a strip of metal laterally and then inward across the face of the blade, said fulcrum being beveled or sharpened on both sides of the cuttingedge, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A can-opener consisting of a cutting-edge and a fulcrum struck up from the same sheet of metal as the blade and lying above the cutting-edge at right angles thereto and in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the blade, said fulcrum having a notch opposite to the cutting-edge, which engages the edge of a can to prevent the blade from running inward or downward in cutting.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM G. BROWNE. JOHN L. BENTON.

Witnesses:

ERNEST E. SPENCER, IDA L. MILLER. 

